Wednesday, January 6, 2016

Weirdest Christmas Break Ever: Dad's Hospital Stay

Weirdest Christmas break ever. I landed in Texas on Saturday morning, and my dad was admitted to the hospital due to a blocked artery Saturday night. He had surgery to place a stent in his carotid artery (which was blocked from an injury, not plaque) and was able to go home two days before Christmas! I know God is good no matter what happens on the operating table, but I am so grateful to have him!! It wasn't a typical trip home at all, but we thank God it worked out the way it did!

Dad covered the basics to the story in his facebook post after he was released, so I'll share that here:

Thanks again for all the prayers. For those that do not know, I had headaches unlike anything before, and had a brain MRI last Friday evening. I received a call from Dr. Martin, my GP, on Saturday with instructions to get to the ER. After a CAT scan at Memorial Hermann in The Woodlands, they decided to transfer me to Memorial Hermann Houston. It turns out I had a dissection of the right carotid artery from an unknown injury. Basically an internal flap was blocking blood flow but the other three arteries were picking up the slack and getting enough blood to the brain to avoid a stroke. After another MRI and an angiogram, we decided to place a stent to repair the artery which was successfully done Tuesday morning. Thank you Cherry, Zara, and family. This was not in the original Christmas plans. Thank you Dr. P. Roc Chen, Dr. Wesley Jones (who likes to bass fish!) and all the incredible neurologists, neurosurgeons and staff at Memorial Hermann. And thanks for all the prayers for them and me. We will definitely have a Merry Christmas!

Hospital chairs are at least more comfortable to sleep in than airplane chairs. On the other hand, it's not exciting to have nurses wake you up at 5 am for your dad's surgical bath. Nope nope NOPE. Flight attendants are a little more gentle when they wake you up.You win some, you lose some ;)

Seriously though, we are SO GLAD that my dad is healthy!!

#surgeryselfie

I am eternally grateful that I was home for the holidays. Like I mentioned above, God is good no matter what happens in one person's life. God is so much bigger than me, my dad, our family, or anything in this life, and his goodness is not dependent on my circumstance. That is the truth I believe from reading and studying God as He reveals Himself in the Bible. BUT! I can't imagine how it would have felt if I had stayed in Korea for the holidays this year. Waiting for news while my daddy had surgery half a world away would have been agonizing. By God's grace, I was there. Same time zone. In the waiting room. Thank the Lord that I came home when I did, and not a moment later. I was able to be there for my dad, and also for my mom. I was on vacation with nowhere else to go and no other responsibility than to be a loving daughter.

The hospital trip threw off a lot of our Christmas plans, but we were fishing on Lake Conroe by the day after Christmas. It doesn't get much better than that. (Plus: THAT WEATHER. T-shirts and shorts on the water in December. I LOVE TEXAS.)

Thank you Lord, for a healthy dad who listens to his pain and takes this life seriously. Thank you for full healing. Thank you for conversations that bring us closer to you, and thank you for knowledgeable and skilled nurses, techs, doctors, surgeons, and cafeteria staff. For real. Those breakfast tacos at Memorial Hermann are bomb-diggity. Father, you are good, you are in control, and we trust you. Thank you for your Son, whose death brings us life, even in the shadow of pain or death. Thank you for Christmas (!!!), when we gather to celebrate the gift of your life. In Jesus' name, Amen.

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I'm a Texan living in South Korea. I'm passionate about my faith, food, the great outdoors, and students. Jesus and coffee will get me through anything. I use the word "favorite" loosely. You should probably know I change my mind more often than my clothes. Welcome to my life.